Samir Bastie woos fans with public training show

Ahead of his much-touted bout against heavyweight brawler Braimah Kamoko alias Bukom Banku on September 30 at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, heavyweight fighter Bastie Samir and colleague boxers held a public training exercise in Accra last Saturday.

The training and shadow-boxing exercise held at the old UTC building adjacent Rawlings Park, drew a large number of onlookers and traders to the scene.

Led by veteran trainer and AIBA Instructor Ofori Asare, the boxers numbering six in various weight divisions hit mitts in turns, shadow boxed each other and engaged in other fitness exercises.

They then jogged across the streets from a junction to the next junction and engaged some members of the public while taking pictures with them.

The initiative, the first of its kind to outdoor the boxers to the general public was sponsored and spearheaded veteran boxing promoter and manager, Kwame Acheampong alias “To-be-a-man”.

He told the Graphic Sports in an interview that the event would be held twice a week and stressed on the importance of bringing the sport to the doorsteps of the people saying it helps market the game.

Coach Ofori Asare noted that this is the first step in creating awareness about the impending fight on September 30 and allowing boxers familiarise themselves with the fans.

“Boxing is only seen in the ring and most people do not know what happens out of the ring, so we are here to educate the citizens on what happens before an important fight”, he noted.

Coach Asare was emphatic of the bright prospects of these boxers saying they take their training very seriously.